Kenyan Diaspora launch investment fund

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- In a bid to streamline and enhance participation in economic reconstruction of their country, Kenyans living abroad have launched the Kenyans Abroad Investment Fund (KAIF), according to planning minister, Anyang' Nyong'o.
Nyong'o told PANA here Wednesday that he and roads and public works minister, Raila Odinga, as well as Kenya's Ambassador to Washington, Leonard Ngaithe, attend the launch in the US capital, last weekend.
Launched under the aegis of the Kenya Community Abroad (KCA), the fund aims to amalgamate remittances from Kenyans abroad into a single financial package that will save members the 10-15 percent they currently pay to third parties.
It will also facilitate members' investment and retirement plans by providing load-free and transparent way in which they can participate in the country's economic reconstruction, according to KCA president, Frank Mwaniki.
"The fund is a concept that was facilitated by the Kenyan Community Abroad and is intended to facilitate the convenient transmission of funds by Kenyans abroad to Kenya at minimal cost for investment, direct support of dependants or both," said Mwaniki.
It also addresses specific concerns of Kenyans abroad by dismantling hurdles that have previously curtailed their group effort to invest in the homeland.
Kenyans in the Diaspora remit approximately $600 million per year to their motherland, minus a similar amount rendered through informal channels.
"A majority of these funds pass through a third party, which skims approximately 10-15 percent through facilitation charges," said Mwaniki.
The fund is also aimed at providing through which Kenyans abroad can plan their retirement by investing in Kenya rather than in their host countries.
In remarks, planning minister Nyong'o said: "The time has come for Kenya to appreciate and embrace the potential we have abroad.
He said the government would support contributions by Kenyans abroad in the reconstruction of the country.